In this file photo, the Clippers' Blake Griffin throws down a dunk after snagging the rebound one-handed against the Nuggets, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013, at Staples Center. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/L.A. Daily News file)

With another highlight for the ages behind him, Blake Griffin almost sheepishly tried to explain his latest throw-down dunk over a hapless defender.

He was so matter-of-fact in the description, he might as well have been Ben Stein teaching an anatomy class.

Jamal Crawford, Griffin droned on, made the perfect bounce pass. Away from the ball, DeAndre Jordan drew defender Kris Humphries to just the right spot. Griffin might as well have had a laser-pointer directed at a video screen showing cell division.

It was teamwork, Griffin said. Offensive execution.

Not one part of the lecture included Griffin’s own physics-defying leap from the launching pad.

“He’s so unselfish to be a superstar,” Crawford said. “It’s really cool to be on his team these two years and watch the growth he’s made.”

It seems like eons ago that Griffin made a name for himself at All-Star weekend, catching a pass from Baron Davis from the sunroof and leaping over a car for the winning dunk.

Griffin hasn’t even turned 25 yet and the Clippers are rising in the West. They have Chris Paul at point guard, but they also have a broad-shouldered forward who is determined to take his game to the next level, then the next one.

He’s not concerned how incrementally he has improved. He merely wants to improve, and he wants his team to get better with him.

We just might be seeing one of those breakthroughs. In the past 13 games, Griffin has averaged 25.7 points and 10.2 rebounds. That’s what he’s supposed to be doing, of course, but day-to-day watchers are seeing a lot more.

Griffin will take charges. He will bash with power forwards until he wins by submission. He has shown an uncanny ability to apply defensive help in coach Doc Rivers’ system. He’s shooting — and hitting — from the outside.

He will even play center, or recently with Paul sidelined with a shoulder injury, point forward. In the three games Paul has missed, Griffin is averaging 5.3 assists, two above his season average.

“It’s a challenge and something different,” Griffin said of his newest spot on the floor, before a grin slowly begins to reveal itself. “I love trying to get my teammates involved. It’s something I really enjoy, but at the same time I will gladly welcome CP back whenever he wants to come back.”

Paul, of course, is the heart, soul and will of the Clippers, but that’s a tough task to undertake from the bench as his shoulder heals.

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When Paul left, Rivers was quick to warn his team that no one needs to try to do what CP3 can for the Clippers. As an example, he said that the only he thing he expected for Griffin during Paul’s rehab is “Just for Blake to be Blake. He doesn’t need to change at all.”

Griffin, one of the team captains, wasn’t going to stop at that. He knew the team needed a voice on the floor. Griffin knows he’s one of the quiet ones, but he also understood that his teammates required that continuity.

“Chris is a guy that every huddle, every dead ball, every free throw, he’s huddling guys up and speaking to us, telling us the next play whatever it is,” Griffin said. “Without him out there, we all have to step up and pitch in. “That was something I tried to do a little bit more, so guys have a kind of familiar pattern to the game and something we always do. I’m not going to replace Chris. He and I are different in terms of our leadership, but I have to tweak it a little bit.”

That hasn’t been lost on Rivers, despite his admonition to stay as true to one’s game as possible.

“Blake is smart and he understands when Chris is talking, he doesn’t need to talk, too,” Rivers said. “But now Chris isn’t there and we need a voice and Blake has been great in doing that. Blake doesn’t go off a lot, but when he talks, you listen because he has something to say. I think it’s powerful.”

And it appears to be the natural progression of Griffin, who has always been known as one of the team’s hardest workers.

Even at 24, Griffin has fully immersed himself in the need to improve at every step. Not just in the offseason with conditioning and adding a new touch or two to his game, but to continue that progression during the season. Not just for himself, but growing a deeper understanding of the structure of the game.

He has thrived at absorbing Rivers’ defensive principles, and even while averaging 22 points and 10.3 rebounds for the season, is reluctant to talk about his own game. When he does allow himself that little guilty pleasure, he can’t hide a tinge of pride.

“That’s the goal every year for me, to become a better player,” Griffin said. “Whether people agree with me or not, I feel like I have. I still have so much work to do and I have a lot of room to grow. It’s not something where I want to sit back and say ‘Yeah, I’ve made some good strides.’ I just want to keep working and become better and be able to help my team more and more.

“I don’t know if satisfied is the right word for me. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with anything I’ve done on the court, unless you have like a perfect season. I wouldn’t say satisfied, but you know, it is nice to see some hard work paying off.”

Or, as he described his matter-of-fact demeanor after his crowd-pleasing dunk:

“I might be a little bit more happy on the inside than you can tell on the outside.”